Solar panels, such as photovoltaic (PV) and solar water heating panels, are frequently used to take advantage of electrical power generation and heating properties of sunlight. To provide space savings and potentially enhanced efficiency, solar panels are in many cases installed on rooftops of buildings (e.g., office buildings, houses, pavilions, free-standing structures with or without walls, etc.). However, because of winds and storms, the mounting fixtures used for installing solar panels on buildings need to be sufficiently strong and durable to reduce the chances of damage or injury from a panel coming loose during a storm, etc.
Various mounting fixtures have been developed for solar panel installation. For example, one particularly advantageous system for mounting a solar panel(s) on a building is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,628,018 to Stapleton, which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. The system may include a plurality of panel mounting brackets each including a base to be positioned on the building, and a vertical extension having a proximal end coupled to the base and a distal end vertically spaced apart from the base, with the distal end defining a fastener channel therein. The system may also include a plurality of mounting clamps each including a bottom flange, and a top flange spaced apart from the bottom flange and partially overhanging the bottom flange and defining a slot therebetween to receive a lip of the solar panel. An end extension may couple respective ends of the bottom flange and top flange together, and a fastener channel connector may be coupled to the bottom flange and configured to be slidably received within the fastener channel. Other solar panel mounting fixtures and systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,484,853; 9,397,605; 9,145,685; and 9,057,545, also to Stapleton, all of which are hereby incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.
Despite the existence of such mounting fixtures, further enhancements may be desirable in some applications to help simplify and expedite the installation of solar panels on buildings or rooftops.